Contact: Kay Fike Jones
A longtime Mississippi State faculty member and administrator is the university's first female dean of libraries.
Frances N. Coleman, who has been serving as interim dean for the past year, will assume her new position July 1, pending approval by the state Board of Trustees, Institutions of Higher Learning.
Coleman was among four finalists to interview for the job. In addition to her duties as professor and interim dean, she also serves as coordinator for special collections.
After earning her bachelor's degree in education in 1969 from Mississippi State, she received a master's in library science from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville in 1972.
Coleman began her 28-year career at Mississippi State in 1969 as an instructor and interlibrary loan librarian.
"We are very delighted to have Mrs. Coleman as our new dean of libraries," said Derek Hodgson, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "As interim dean, she brought outstanding leadership to the library and greatly accelerated the use of technological advances in information management and transfer."
Under her guidance, the Document Delivery Project was implemented, providing online access to 22,000 additional journal titles at no charge to faculty, researchers and graduate students.
She also accelerated the library's Information Technology Program by enhancing online services to branch libraries and adding additional users to the Document Delivery and Interlibrary Loan Project.
"Dean Coleman has been a part of the Mississippi State family for a long time and we are looking forward to benefiting from her experience, skill and leadership," Hodgson added.
Mississippi State's library system is composed of Mitchell Memorial and branches at the School of Architecture, College of Veterinary Medicine and Meridian Campus.